Insider Selling: WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) Director Sells 3,070 Shares

WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) Director Denise Knouse-Snyder sold 3,070 shares of WesBanco stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.89, for a total transaction of $125,532.30. Following the transaction, the director owned 15,035 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $614,781.15. The trade was a 16.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

WesBanco Stock Up 0.1%

NASDAQ:WSBC traded up $0.05 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $40.91. 183,791 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 856,320. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $40.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.71. WesBanco, Inc. has a 1 year low of $29.57 and a 1 year high of $43.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.90 and a beta of 0.67.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.07. WesBanco had a return on equity of 9.72% and a net margin of 23.35%.The firm had revenue of $275.79 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $267.71 million. Analysts predict that WesBanco, Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

WesBanco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. WesBanco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.19%.

WesBanco announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 20th that allows the company to buyback 4,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of WesBanco

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WSBC. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in WesBanco by 12,500.0% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 750 shares during the period. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of WesBanco during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in shares of WesBanco in the second quarter worth about $40,000. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in WesBanco by 71.9% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,435 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in WesBanco during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $57,000. 61.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on WSBC. DA Davidson set a $46.00 price objective on WesBanco in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of WesBanco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $42.00 price objective on shares of WesBanco in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of WesBanco from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Zacks Research raised WesBanco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, WesBanco currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.20.

About WesBanco

WesBanco, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Wheeling, West Virginia, offering a full range of community banking services through its principal subsidiary, WesBanco Bank, Inc The company serves individual consumers, small‐ to mid‐sized businesses, nonprofit organizations and governmental entities with a relationship‐driven approach and an emphasis on local decision‐making. Through its diversified platform, WesBanco provides core banking functions such as deposit accounts, commercial and consumer lending, mortgage banking, treasury management and electronic banking services.

In addition to traditional banking products, WesBanco offers specialized services including trust and wealth management, investment advisory and insurance solutions.